Pneumatic governor



March l5, 1960 D. A. DOTSON PNEUMATIC GOVERNOR Original Filed March 13, 1951 Dona/ia oson IN VEN TOR.

PNEUMATIC GGVERNOR Donald A. Dotson, Los Angeles, Calif., assigner to The Garrett Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Original application March 13, 1951, Serial No. 215,207,

now Patent No. 2,808,702, dated October 8, 1957. Qivided and this application December 28, 1953, Serial No. 400,666

sclaims. (c1. 1an-so) i The present invention relates generally to 'speed governing apparatus, and is more particularly concerned with a governor which may be utilized for controlling the speed of power plants, such as a gas turbine unit.

The present invention constitutes a division of my copending application, Serial No. 215,207, tiled March 13, 1951, now issued in Patent No. 2,808,702.

Mechanical inertia governors of the ily-ball type are not adapted for the control of gas turbines under the conditions where it is desired that the speed shall increase with increased load up to maximum allowable speed with maximum load.

The present invention therefore contemplates a pneumatic governor arranged to control the power plant in accordance with the temperature compensated pressure ratio across the compressor. Since the design characteristics of any particular compressor are predicated to a very large extent on the ratio of the density of the inlet air to that at the outlet, it will be seen that by keeping this ratio fairly constant, vthe compressor will deliver highest etiiciency over the range of air flows required.

Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose f fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only, the single ligure is a view diagrammatically illustrating a governor embodying the features of the present invention, and shows the manner in which it is incorporated in the fuel control system of a gas turbine power plant.

The power plant in general Referring now generally to the drawings, the present invention is disclosed as being embodied in a power plant in which a hot gas turbine 11 drives a compressor 12 having its outlet connected with dual combustion chambers 13 and 14 which are respectively connected through ducts 15 and 16 for conducting the hot gases to the turbine. Air supply to the compressor is through an inlet 17. Fuel for the combustion chambers is supplied from a fuel pump 18 driven by the turbine, this pump having its inlet connected to a suitable source of fuel supply through a shutoff valve 19 by a conduit 20. The pump outlet is connected with nozzles 21 and 22 in the combustion chambers by means of a conduit 23, fuel flow through this conduit being controlled by a solenoid valve 24 and a by-pass valve 25, as will hereafter be explained in detail.

The compressor 12 is provided with a plurality of bleed-oli connections 26 and 27 from which compressed air may be distributed through suitable ducts to points of use for power purposes. In the present instance, the connection 26 is shown as being connected to a distribution duct 28 for supplying air, as indicated by the arrow 29, to remotely located air actuated apparatus, for example, an air turbine motor (not shown). The connection 2.6 is also shown as being connected with a branch rice conduit 30 by which air from the compressor outlet may be supplied to pneumatic control which will be described later in detail. 1

VAn electric starter 31 is shown as having a driving connection with the unit, and there is also provided a suitable over-speed switch 32, which are connected into the control system of the power plant, to be described.

Fuel supply and control system As diagrammatically illustrated, the fuel system is a simple single ow line in which the supply conduit 20 connects with the inlet of the fuel pump 18, and an outlet connection conduit 23 connects with the nozzles of the combustion chambers. Control of the fuel supplied to the combustion chambers is accomplished by regulating the by-pass of fuel from the outlet side of the fuel pump 18 to its inlet side. For such purpose, the'by-pass valve 25 is connected by a conduit 33 with conduit 23, and by conduit 34 which connects with conduit 20 on the inlet'side of the pump. The by-pass valve 25 in addition to fuel metering, also acts as a safety device for the fuel system and forms-a relief valve which will open under abnormally high pressure to by-pass fuel around the fuel pump.

The by-pass valve 25 comprises a casing 35 having a iixed wall 36 inwardly spaced from one end ofthe casing and cooperating therewith to provide a chamber 37 in communication withy a flow opening 38 in the wall 36. Between the wall 36 and the opposite end of the casing 35, the interior of the casing is divided into separated chambers 39, 40 Vand 41 by movable wall structures 42 and 43.

' The wall structure 42' comprises a bellows 44 which is anchored at one end andcommunicates interiorly with chamber 40, and is connected at its other end to'a metering valve 45 operatively associated with the opening 38 and adapted to seat therein in closed position. A coilspring V46 supplements the action of the bellows 44 and acts to urge the valve towards seated position. The valve 45 is further connected by means of a stem 47 or other suitable structure with the movable wall structure 43 which in this instance hasbeen illustrated as comprising a diaphragm.

The chamber 37 is connected to receive fuel pressure through conduit 33 from the outlet side of the fuel pump, While chamber 39 is connected with the'inlet` low pressure side of the pump by conduit 34. The chamber 40 communicates through a port 48 with atmosphere. 'Ihe confronting faces of wallstructures 42 and 43 are therefore subject to a 'common pressure', in this'case atm'os'- pheric pressure. The chamber 41 is connected through a conduit 49 with the control pressure side of the pneumatic system supplied by conduit 30, a restricted orifice 5t) being interposed in the flow path of the control air pressure to the chamber 41.

The effective area of the bellows 44 is made equal to the area of the opening 38, thereby providing constant pressure areas in all positions of operation of the valve 45. It will thus be seen that the ratio of the effective area of the wall structure 43 to the area of the orifice 38 establishes a substantially constant fuel-to-air ratio, since the control pressure established by means of the restricted ilow from the compressor outlet acts on the diaphragm in the chamber 41 in a manner equivalent to a variable force which changes directly with compressor pressure changes." This variable force is augmented by the spring 46 which has a sufficient valve closing force to 'supply enough fuel pressure to the combustion chambers for initial light-oit. Opening action of the metering valve 45 causes more fuel to be `lay-passed from the high pressure side to the low pressure side of the pump 18, and vice versa. 1

from zero up to maximumr speed during-a starting op eration, a thermostatic valve 91 is mountedY in the tur bine exhaust, this valve having a thermal sensitive conf trol for modifying the operation of the b y-pass valve 25 during starting. It will be appreciated that the turbine exhaust temperature will reflect the turbine nozzle temperatures. A itting 108 of the thermal valve 91 is connected to the control pressure system, and hence to chamber 41 of by-pass valve 25, by means fof a conduit113. Therefore, when excessive temperature obtains atA the turbine nozzles, the valve 91 relieves control system pressure in the chamber 41, causing the fuel metering valve 45 to unseat a greater distance and allow fuel pressure on the high side of the fuel pump to force a greater amount of fuel through the pump by-pass. As a result, `fuel flow to the combustion chambers .is decreased with a consequent reduction of temperature at the turbine nozzles. lUpon decrease of temperature at the turbine nozzles below the maximum allowable temperature, the opposite action takes place. V

After the power plant is up to speed and pneumatic power is available, the thermostatic valve 91 cooperatesl with a load limiting servo-valve 114 in a manner to limit the pneumatic load to values consistent with maximum desirable temperature at the turbine nozzles. For this purpose, aiitting 109 of the thermal valve 91 is connected by means of a conduit 115 to the operating cylinder 116 within which an roperatively associatedy piston 117 isimounted for reciprocal movement. The piston is connected by a link 118` to abutterlly valve 119 for controlling flow through the duct 28. A spring 120 acts against the piston in a direction to move the butterfly valve towards closed position. Motivating air pressure is supplied to the cylinder 116 from conduit 30 through a conduit 121 having a flow restricting orifice 122 therein.

It is preferred that the mechanism of the thermostatic valve 91, which controls the pressure in the load limiting control conduit 115, be calibrated so as to operate at a temperature of, for example, 100 F., under that which controls the pressure in the by-pass valve control conduit 113. This permits both the acceleration and speed controls to operate the fuel by-pass valve 25 so asto maintain maximum temperature at the nozzle box at all times regardless of the amount of pneumatic load on the power plant. It also permits load modulation by the buttery valve Without interference by the acceleration control of the pneumatic control circuit at the governed speed.

It will be appreciated therefore that during the accelerating phase of starting, the operation of the power plant is under the supervision of the acceleration control. Since the compressor pressure increases roughly as the square of its speed, the compressor pressure will rise rapidly as designed speed is approached, this increase being accompanied by a corresponding increase in fuel pressure. During the later speeds of acceleration, the nozzle temperature, which increased rather abruptly in the initial starting phase, will begin to drop olf. Thus, the acceleration control thermostatbecomes less controlling, and as no load designed speed is'approached, the thermostatic valve will only function as a standby control with conduits 113 and 115 sealed oif.

The load limiting control is ineffectual during the ac celerating period of the power plant, since no load has been applied. When load is applied, the thermostatic valve 91 will act to modulate the amount of bleed air available for that load in accordance with a nozzle tem perature of approximately 100 F., under that at which the acceleration control would operate as previously discussed.

It is, of course, desirable that the butterfly valve 1'19 should be located as closely to the connection 26 of the compressor as is practicably feasible, since any leakage which might occur. in thedistribution duct 28 between the connection 26 and the butterfly valve 119 might not result in temperature limiting controlfby the buttertly valve. In that event,.the operationof the by-passvalve 5 25 by the thermostatic valve 91 would be the sole means for lmitingnozzle temperatures. Y

The `rotational speed of the power plant is under the c 'ontrol of a pneumatic governor which will now be described. 'Ihe-` pneumatic governor according to the present invention is generally designated by numeral 123. The governor comprises an enclosingcasing 124 Within which a movable wall structure `125 is positioned adjacent one end of the casing with which it cooperates to form a chamber -126 which is connected through a conduit I127 to receive operating pressure from the conduit 30.

The movable wall structure 125 includes a diiferential bellows 128 mounted within the chamber 126, the in terior of this bellows being open on its oppositeside to pressure vexisting within a chamber 129 extending ybetween the movable wall'l structure vand the opposite end of thev casing, this chamber being. vented to atmosphere through a port opening 130. l

.Within the chamber 129 there is. pivotally mounted on a pivot member 131 a right angled crank "132 having arms 133 and 134 respectively. Movement of the bellows 128 is transmitted to the crank 132 through a thrust bar 135, one end of this bar being attached by a suitable connection to the bellows structure, and the other end of the bar carryingv an anti-friction contact wheel 136 which bears against an adjacent surface of the arm 133. 'Thrust forces exerted by theY bellows 128 will act to move the crank 132 in a clockwise direction.r

Movements of the crank 132-by the action of the bellows 128, are modified by the action of an absolute pressure device 137 which consists of an evacuated bellows 138 and a temperature compensating mechanism 139. The action of the bellows 138 is transmitted to arm 134 of the crank through a tension bar 140 having a knife edge bearing contact. 141Y with the crank arm, so that tension Vforces applied thereto will act to swing the crank in a counterclockwise direction. Y Y

The effective pressure areas of the bellows 128 and 138 are equal. However, the moments of force acting on the arms 133 and 134 will be proportional to the relative lengths of the force arms and the pressures to which these bellows may be subjected under varying ambient conditions. v

The crank and bellows combination described above would provide constant speed control of the power plant in accordance with changes of pressure at the compressor inlet, assuming inlet air temperature as being constant. However, it is a characteristic of this type of power plant, with merely pressure ratio control, that its speed decreases with decrease of inlet air temperature. Temperature compensation is therefore arranged by utilizing a bimetallic strip 142, this strip being anchored at one end and having its free end connected through a link 143 with the end of the thrust bar 135 which carries the contact wheel. The operation of -the bimetallic strip is such as to vary the force arm at which the bellows 128 acts on the crank arm 133 in such a manner as to increase the pressure ratio with decrease of temperature. In other words, vupward movement of the strip 142 accompanies a temperature decrease and causes a decrease in the length of the force arms between the crank pivot 131 and the point of contact with the wheel 136. v

The mechanism as described above provides move- Y Y from the chamber 41 bi the by-pass valve 'zs.

vr'7' begabte-risas with aeereasingjteiiiperatute at tbefiiiflet of th'ecompresser.` It lisjplefet'-'red,A of course, that the s bimetaliie stripbe located in or adjacent v'tizi the ebiiii t rlressorV inlet Yof the power Vplant 'so as vto"Correctlysense 'the Vinlet air 'tempetilfo The movements of the crank'S are utilizedV tne Y the 'chamber 129 et the 'pneumatic geve er abusing, this end being lformed te provide a Jseat i44 "raised valve member 146 which is 'normallyelesegiagainstttie 'seat 145. TlieA fr'eee'nd of the valv'ejniember'fvei'lies 'an 'ade- ,jacent end of crank 'arm 'Bit so th'at'upon clockwise movement of the e'ra'iil'Y 132,ithe valve member '146 will "be lifted from its lasseei'atel seat and permit bleed new "fi-'0in the 'chart-ibas 41 of the bypass' valve :through 'the conduit 144. The valve meinber- 145 'has Vsbnie-ient spring resiliency to seal 'against escape ofhceiitrol pressure ait-i,

Vniitil moved by `the assbeia'ted 'crank arm.

It will be appreciated that changes of ein1ess`r .piess'ijire betweenlew ljo'ad and full leaiiare only nominal, when the power plant is runnin'igi'at 'governed speed. Therefore, the diierential b'ellow`sv128necessarilyipo# vides sensitive control of the reed 'valve member r146 in order to provide constantfspeed 'at the`15artic'zul'afr`V load. During power delivery periods, the thermostatic valve t91 operates primarily a's Va 'load limiting modlator, `with `a further standby protection `feature against kexcessive 'fuel consumption, and in such an event Ythe thermal valve overrides the actionjo'f Vthe governor where excessive nozzle temperature might result yfion'tw *Ygverrlc'll-`` action. It is appreciated that various 'modilic'ationsrinay suggest themselves te Vthose skilled in the a'ttlwi'thbnt tie- 'partingfrom the spirit ofthe present invention, and,

hence', it is desired that the invention :shall not "be 'restricted to the form loi' forms 'shown or uses mentioned, except to the extent indicated inthe appended claims.'

1. A pneumatically actuated `governor for' regulating fuel ow 4to an internal combus'tionyeng'ine, Comprising:

a casing; means 'defining a .passage for controlling a`ctating air pressure "of fuel V'control Aineens, saidfpss'age having a restricted llow orice; 'a valve in :said 'easing a Vsuitable bleed conduit '144 arranged to bleed press'll're fet cent'rlling s'aii passage, "saidvalve being en bite` t side bf saiderice; a''rst iriti'vable wall in said easing responsive `tofp'ressu`-re differential between 'a variable-y iiuid pressure fand ambient atmosphere; a second -movv able 'wal-1 in's'id A'tlsinig responsive to absolute pressure variations, said W'alls Vbeing interconnected for mutual 'lnodifyin'grop'erationg means for transmitting cooperative.

'movement Atlfysad walls to said control valve to actuateA the same; 'means -for compensating the cooperative moveinent of said walls for variation in -ambient temperature; and an adjustable bleed 'connection `communicating with 'said passage on 'said side of' said orifice.

t 2. A pneumatically actuated governor for regulating; -f'el iiow to an internal combustion engine, fcomprisingz.

,a casing; means defining a passage for controlling actuacasing; means defining a passage for `controlling actuating air pressure of fuel control means; lavlve in said casing for controlling said passage;a first movable wall in said 'casing 'responsive to pressure dilerential between a variable iluid pressure vand ambient atmosphere; a

second movable wall in said casingresponsive to absoluteY l, pressure variations; a pivoted vcrank having angularly positioned legs connected respectively with said walls', the

connection with the iirstl wall being a rolling connection; and fa bimetallic 'strip for lshifting said rolling connection in response to temperature changes.

i `References Cited in the le of this patent 'UNITED s TATns PATENTS Woodward J-uly 1, 1952 

